The Football Association

I am delighted to offer The Football Association 's full support for the bid to host the 2008 IGLFA World Championship in London and The FA is committed to working with the tournament organisers to provide the necessary technical support to assist in the running of the event.

Football in London is already very diverse with a number of predominantly gay and lesbian teams competing in mainstream leagues and supporting this bid further demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that football is truly welcoming to all people.

The FA is absolutely committed to tackling all forms of discrimination and harassment and to promote equality and through our Football For All campaign is working to ensure that people from all backgrounds have the opportunity to enjoy taking part in this national game at every level. The FA is leading the campaign to tackle homophobic abuse in football in England as part of the Football For All campaign and have made a clear undertaking that we will continue to take this lead. As part of the bid we are committed to working with the tournament organisers to stage a conference on tackling homophobia in football with the aim of leaving a legacy of increased tolerance and respect for all people in football.

I would like to wish you every success and look forward to the IGLFA World Championship being held in London in 2008.

Simon Johnson
Director of Corporate Affairs

Stonewall

Stonewall offers you its full support and endorsement for your bid to host the IGLFA Football World Championships in London in 2008.

Stonewall works across a range of areas across Britain from parliamentary lobbying to the workplace and education. We are increasingly concerned at the ongoing exclusion of many gay people from engagement in UK sport at all levels from school to the professional.

Consequently, we welcome the growth of gay and gay-friendly football in London. For many years, Leftfooters FC has been an important part of the gay football scene in London and we feel that you have the necessary experience and enthusiasm to host an event as prestigious as the IGLFA World Championships.

Following a successful bid, Stonewall would be happy take an active part in the week's events as we feel that they would furnish a robust and credible platform to promote the participation of gay men and women in sports. In particular, we would be delighted to work alongside the FA in hosting a conference on tackling homophobia in football.

I wish you all the best in your efforts and look forward to joining you in welcoming gay and lesbian football teams from across the world to London in the summer of 2008.

Benn Summerskill
Chief Executive